Mystic & Severe
Thursday May 9th, 2019 with Michael O'Keefe
Mystically & Severely Filling In: A Few Strictly Classic Movie Soundtracks

This time slot is in transition! Michael O'Keefe was happy to do a severely mystical takeover though during that period. The theme is loose but also precise: parts of 4 classic soundtracks. 'Barry Lyndon,' (1975) was not appreciated in its day but has found somewhat of a cult audience these days. The sounds are not really of its time - but that works just fine. 'Blue Velvet,' (1986) was seen as very strange in its day and remains to be seen that way. It's popularity comes from the controversy any prominent surreal film faces. But it's hard to take issue with Angelo Badalamenti's fantastic music and the weird yet effective use of 1950's rock music. While contemporary North American audiences may need to be familiarized with Dario Argento's 'The Bird with the Crystal Plummage,' (1970) it cannot be overstated how important this film was for the Giallo cycle back in the day and the sheer amount of imitation it inspired within Italy and then later in America for the 1980s Slasher cycle. Ennio Morricone known for his Spaghetti Western music up until this point delivered a very creepy horror score for Director Dario Argento. Speaking of Italian composers, Nina Rota delivered some excellent scores for Federico Fellini and then Francis Ford Coppola for his film 'The Godather,' (1972) which is a film so influential that the only one that is more influential would come from one of Francis' friends and that of course is 'Star Wars' (1977).